


Breaking the Fall

by Lokiismylife27



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Gen, Good Loki (Marvel), Light Elves, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Post-Thor (2011), Sick Loki (Marvel), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 17:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16246373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokiismylife27/pseuds/Lokiismylife27
Summary: Loki falls to Alfheim, and crashes through the roof of a healer's house. Sick and weakened from his fall, Loki must rely on Cirene to get back to full strength. Basically much-needed fluff after Infinity Wars.





	Breaking the Fall

 

 

Cirene Turensdottir was not a happy camper. She had just finished breakfast when someone crashed through her roof. While it was fairly simple to fix the damage with her magic, she was not happy with the unconscious guy on her floor. One look at him, and she was cursing up a storm- what was LOKI of all people doing crashing through her roof?

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she’d be getting answers any time soon- Loki was still unconscious when she had to go shopping, so she left a note on his chest after putting him on her sofa and covering him with a blanket, and left.

 

**~XXXX~**

 

About fifteen minutes after Cirene left, Loki woke up. He was puzzled to find himself lying on someone’s sofa, covered with a soft blanket. There was a piece of paper on his chest, and he picked it up, reading it. 

 

All it said was,  _ I went shopping. I’ll be back soon. Please don’t destroy any more of my house while I’m gone. -Cirene. _

 

Loki really wasn’t sure what to make of that. Eventually he decided to figure out what he’d destroyed and fix it before leaving- but when he tried to sit up, he discovered a whole new set of problems. The minute he was upright, his head started spinning and his stomach lurched slightly. He laid back down, and closed his eyes until his head stopped spinning and his stomach had settled. Figuring he probably had a concussion, Loki sighed and settled down.

 

There was a sound of a door opening ten minutes later, and some rustling in another room before a woman with waist-length golden hair and purple eyes came in. She came over, and examined him with her magic. “Well, you’re going to be here for a while,” she commented dryly. “That’s one nasty case of Halvar Fever.”

 

“Halvar Fever?” Loki asked, confused.

 

“Named for the Light Elf who created medicine for it,” Cirene said. “It’s not very common, but the main symptoms are a high fever, bad headache, dizziness, nausea, and usually stomach cramps. You’re lucky you fell through my roof- I’m the village healer. Do I want to know what prompted you crash-landing in my kitchen?”

 

“No, probably not,” Loki said.

 

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me, then,” Cirene said. “I’m Cirene, by the way.”

 

“A pleasure; I’m Loki,” Loki said. He winced as his stomach cramped up, and Cirene noticed. “Stomach cramps setting in?” she asked him.

 

“Yes,” Loki replied.

 

“I’ll go see if I have some of the medicine you need,” Cirene said, and left.

 

She came back with a bottle and a spoon, and carefully measured out some of the medicine. “Open up,” she told Loki. He grimaced, but obeyed, and she stuck the spoon in his mouth. Loki shuddered as he swallowed the medicine- it tasted terrible. She gave him some water, and then left again. This time she came back with more blankets, and tucked them around him as she explained, “You’ll need a spoonful of the medicine every six hours; I’ll set up a timer for myself. In the meantime, you should rest; yell if you need something. It’s unlikely you’ll be well enough to get up unaided for a few days at least.”

 

“Why?” Loki asked.

 

“You’re very sick, that’s why,” Cirene said bluntly. “Rule number one about healers- do what they say without complaint.”

 

Loki winced, and settled back. He was all too aware of what Lady Eir did to people who didn’t follow her directions- testing Cirene’s patience seemed equally unwise. 

 

“How’s your stomach?” Cirene asked him.

 

“Painful,” Loki admitted. 

 

“Does it feel tight, or are you feeling like you might throw up?” Cirene asked.

 

“It’s mainly tight, but now that you mention it, I do feel slightly queasy,” Loki said.

 

“I’ll get a heating pad, that should help with the tight feeling at least,” Cirene said. She left, and Loki watched as she came back with some sort of pad and what looked like a bucket. She pulled the blankets back and put it over his stomach, then tucked him back in, placing the bucket next to him. “That’s in case you need to throw up,” she told him. “Try to get some sleep, alright?”

 

Loki nodded sleepily, and closed his eyes. The heating pad was already starting to ease his stomach cramps, and he fell asleep a few minutes later.

 

**_Four hours later…_ ** Loki woke up feeling sick, and opened his eyes. His stomach lurched, and he rolled onto his side, throwing up into the bucket Cirene had left him. Since he hadn’t eaten in a while, most of what came up was stomach acid and bile. Cirene came in as he stopped vomiting with a glass of water, and helped him drink some. Loki rinsed his mouth out too, and laid back. Cirene smoothed his hair back, then frowned slightly. “Your fever’s gone up; I’d better get a cool cloth,” she said, and left. She came back with a bowl of water and a cloth, and soaked the cloth, wringing it out before pressing it against Loki’s forehead. Loki shivered, and Cirene said, “I know it’s cold, but it’ll help.”

 

Loki was about to respond when his stomach cramped up again. The pain was worse this time, and he curled up, groaning as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. Cirene looked worried, and asked, “Your stomach cramps came back?”

 

“Yes,” Loki replied tightly- then groaned as another wave of pain hit. He was vaguely aware of Cirene putting a hand on his stomach, and felt the pain ease up slightly. Cirene said something, but Loki passed out before he could figure out what she’d said and respond.

 

His return to consciousness was heralded by Cirene gently shaking his shoulder. “Loki, you need more medicine,” she said when he opened his eyes.

 

“Alright,” Loki said weakly.

 

Cirene measured out some more of the medicine, and fed it to Loki before giving him some water. “How’s your stomach?” she asked him.

 

“Better,” Loki said. “Less painful.”

 

“Good,” Cirene said. “You should go back to sleep; I’ll wake you up when it’s time for your next dose of medicine.”

 

Loki nodded sleepily, and drifted off. The last thing he was aware of was Cirene replacing the cool cloth on his forehead.

 

Cirene sighed as Loki fell asleep. It was good that his stomach was better, but his fever was dangerously high, and nothing seemed to make a dent in it. The medicine she was giving him was supposed to reduce the fever, but it wasn’t, and cool cloths did nothing. She had medicine that was specifically for high fevers, but the ingredients weren’t compatible with the medicine she was already giving him, and would likely make him worse.

 

By the time she needed to give him another dose of medication, however, she noticed that at least Loki’s fever hadn’t gone up any further. She gently woke him up and gave him the medicine, then told him, “I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll be back in six hours for your next dosage, alright?”

 

Loki nodded tiredly, and his eyes fluttered shut.

 

Cirene set her alarm, and went to sleep. Luckily Light Elves such as herself didn’t need much sleep, so she was feeling rested by the time her alarm went off. She went to give Loki more medicine, and discovered his fever had dropped a little bit.

 

The next few days were pretty much the same- Loki’s fever seemed to be going down a little bit each day, though he spent most of the time sleeping. She managed to get some broth into him, and kept him hydrated. She was pleased when he was able to keep everything she gave him down- the stomach problems that came with Halvar Fever could have been a problem. Some people who got it couldn’t keep anything down for days. Cirene stuck to light foods just in case.

 

She had just finished giving Loki another dose of the medicine he needed on the fourth day when someone started banging on her front door. She went to see who it was, and found the village blacksmith, Gunnar, on her doorstep. Knowing his wife was pregnant, she asked, “Is the baby here?”

 

“Yes, Mila’s water broke,” Gunnar said.

 

“I’ll be right there, I need my bag,” Cirene said, and ran to her closet, getting her healer’s bag. She then followed Gunnar to his house.

 

The delivery went smoothly, and five hours later, Cirene called Gunnar into the room, and said, “Congratulations, you have a son.” She handed the baby over, and Gunnar took him, a look of awe and happiness on his face as he cradled his son. Cirene knew that this was his firstborn, and went to help his wife clean up. Then she prised the baby out of Gunnar’s arms, saying admonishingly, “He needs feeding, Gunnar. You can hold him again later.”

 

Gunnar looked sheepish, and handed the baby back to Mila. “Do you need to return?” Mila asked. “We heard you have a man with Halvar Fever in your house.”

 

“I should, yes,” Cirene said. “I need to give him his medicine soon. We can discuss payment tomorrow; I’m sure you two need to think of a name.”

 

“Our thanks, Healer,” Gunnar said. “I will be by tomorrow, then.”

 

“My thanks,” Cirene said. “And congratulations to you both.”

 

The couple thanked her, and Cirene went home. She found Loki awake, and asked after giving him his medicine, “How are you feeling?”

 

“Better than I have been,” Loki said. “Did something happen?”

 

“I was delivering a baby- Gunnar the blacksmith and his wife Mila’s firstborn,” Cirene said. “A son. I wonder what they’ll name him. Gunnar’s coming by tomorrow to discuss payment.”

 

“That reminds me, I don’t have any money with me,” Loki admitted.

 

“Judging by what little gossip I’ve heard, you also don’t have anywhere to go,” Cirene said dryly. “I was going to suggest that you stay here and help me make medicines, so you can work off whatever debt you owe me. You can make potions and medicines, right?”

 

“Give me a recipe and I can generally make it,” Loki said. “Unfortunately, I am nowhere near as good at making food.”

 

“I can cook, that won’t be a problem,” Cirene commented. “Speaking of which, do you think you can eat something a little more solid than broth?”

 

“I think so,” Loki said. “My stomach feels fine.”

 

Cirene nodded, and went to get some of the leftover chicken stew she’d made, along with some bread. She heated up the soup, and took everything to Loki on a tray. Unfortunately, he was still too weak to sit up on his own, so she fed him the soup, and ripped the bread into pieces that he could dip into the soup. He got sleepy almost immediately after finishing the food, and Cirene pulled the blankets back over him, getting a sleepy “Thank you” before Loki fell sound asleep.

 

She noticed a few hours later that Loki’s fever was almost gone, and sighed with relief. Once the fever broke completely, she’d be able to stop giving him medicine. Halvar Fever unfortunately left those who survived it significantly weakened, so she’d need to help Loki get back to full strength. With how resilient he seemed to be, she had high hopes that it wouldn’t take much more than a week or two for him to be fully recovered.

 

It took five days before Loki was back on his feet, and another three before he was fully recovered. Cirene made very sure that he didn’t push himself, and that he was actually recovered when he said he was. Then she informed him the clothes he’d been wearing needed to be burned, and asked if he had any way of getting more. 

 

“I keep some extra clothes in my subspace,” Loki said. He pulled another outfit out of his subspace, and Cirene led him to her bathroom. She was lucky to have a shower; a lot of people couldn’t afford to, though her village was fairly well-off. Loki took a shower, and came out dressed in the set of clothes he’d found in his subspace. She looked him over, and nodded before telling him to incinerate the old clothes. He did so, and then said cautiously, “I think I have some money in my subspace.”

 

“Do you want to leave?” Cirene asked.

 

“Not really,” Loki admitted. “You’re the first person who was ever nice to me. I wouldn’t mind working for you; I just wasn’t entirely sure you would want me to stay.”

 

Cirene hugged him. “I think you should stay,” she said when he hesitantly hugged her back. “I like having you around.”

 

“You do?” Loki asked, and the hope in his voice was painful.

 

“Yes,” Cirene said. “Stay?”

 

She heard the smile in his voice as he said, “I’ll stay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and or comments, they're much appreciated.


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